The Legend of the Pepperoni Sandwich - Part One: The Girl

This story is based on true events that occurred during the winter of 1979. To protect the survivors involved, the names, locations, and events have been changed.

Becky was an ordinary girl who lived by routine. Every day she would wake up, go to school, come home, and go to sleep. Nothing extraordinary ever happened and she liked it that way.

One day she awoke to find she had overslept yet again. The school bus had come and gone and she did not have a ride, so she decided to stay home. The thought of a day with no school thrilled her.

“Something new” she said to no one. “Nothing to do now but sit and relax.” If she knew the dangers that this day would present, she probably would have walked the two blocks to school.
The morning turned to afternoon without any incident. Becky decided to cut short her 17^th viewing of Thumbelina and go online. While reading up plot lines to the Highlander television series, she felt her stomach growl.

I need food she thought. But what do I have? Becky opened her refrigerator to see what goodies awaited inside. I’ll make a sandwich she decided. She grabbed her bread, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese. But on further inspection, she realized she had no pepperoni.

What good is a sandwich without pepperoni? she thought. I need to go to the store.
Becky walked outside. It was a chilly winter day but it didn’t look like there would be snow.

“I’ll grab my scarf!” she said, snapping her fingers in brief excitement, but the doors were already locked and she figured it would be a quick trip, so she left without it.

Becky walked five miles uphill to the grocery store, a pepperoni sandwich still fresh on her mind. By the time she reached the store, the clouds had grown dark and it seemed like it would rain soon.

 I should have brought my umbrella she thought as she walked inside. I guess I’ll have to buy one.
Inside the store was even colder than outside, but that didn’t stop her. She was on a mission, but when she looked for the packaged pepperoni, they didn’t have any.

“Damnit” she said.

“There is always the deli, young miss.” Becky turned to see an old man staring at her from a few feet away. His yellow-glazed eyes were wide and seemed not to blink. His gums shined brightly with saliva, and the little hair he did have was combed neatly to the side. “If it ain’t too much trouble fer’ ya.”
Becky tried not to look too frightened as she quickly thanked the old man and ran full-sprint in the opposite direction.

As she approached the deli, she couldn’t help but notice the new butcher. Jonesy was the butcher of Chop-Mart and everyone knew it. He was famous for his thin turkey slices, but this man was not Jonesy. He was a tall, round man with broad shoulders and crooked yellow teeth. His hands were massive and unproportioned to the rest of his body.

“Umm…where’s Jonesy?” she asked the stranger.

“He’s, uhh.., on vacation,” he replied. “Yeah, that’s it. He should be back in a few days, maybe. He needed a rest, if you know what I mean. A very long rest.”

“Right, okay, sounds good, sounds good.” She said, not paying any attention to the butcher. Her eyes were wide and wanting as she stared at some graying Pepperoni. “Can I have a half-pound of pepperoni please?”  The man looked at her shocked with surprise.

“Pepperoni, you say?” His eyes shifted from side to side, looking to see if anyone was watching. “I'm sorry, but we’re all out.”

“What?” she replied. “I see some right there!” She pointed at the graying tube of meat.

“Uhh…” said the man, drool dropping down his lips. “That’s uh…Salami?”

“Ew, gross!” cried Becky. She was shaking with anger. I’ve never heard of a grocery store without any pepperoni she thought. This place sucks. She turned to walk away when a giant sweaty hand grabbed her arm. The butcher was almost over the counter, trying to stop her.

“Wait ma’am. If you’re looking for a pepperoni sandwich, I know where you can find the best in the world.”

Her eyes danced around, rapidly changing from pure revulsion to wonder.

 Best in the world? This was something she could not turn down.

“If you wait a moment, I can draw you a map.” The butcher grabbed a pen from behind the counter and a used napkin from his breast pocket. As he scribbled down the directions, Becky couldn’t help but wonder.

The best pepperoni sandwich in the world? What would it taste like? Will I be able to finish it? Is he drawing a goat on the napkin?

“Here you are miss.” He said. “If you leave now, you should be able to reach the place in a couple of hours.” Becky reached out and grabbed the butcher’s map. As she touched it, a jolt ran through her body. She flew her hand back as the man started to laugh. His laughter was echoed by the old man’s laughter behind her. They both laughed in unison as she headed towards the door.

They watched her walk away and turned to face each other, ceasing their laughter. The butcher lowered his eyes so as not to meet the old man’s gaze.

“She isn’t ready my lord. And we’ve lost so much time…” The old man stared at his servant, who had served him faithfully for a millennia.

“I know. But there is no one else.”

Becky was almost out the door when she noticed the rain pouring down outside.

I forgot to buy an umbrella, she thought, cursing the old man and the butcher. She stared outside annoyed for a moment, and then headed to the lost and found. As they looked for the umbrella she told them she had lost, she glanced at the map. It was not so much a map as a collection of childlike drawings: a few pictures of mountains and trees, with a line cut through that resembled a small path. There was a picture of what looked like a truck and a man with smoke rising off him, and a smiling goat with a beer bottle in his mouth.

This isn’t a map at all she thought. She was about to throw it out when she noticed writing on the back. The writing simply said “As soon as you leave, head straight for ten minutes and you will find the path”

“Oh, okay,” she said out loud. “And I was about to go home.”

“Here you are Miss.” The clerk behind the counter showed her an umbrella that looked to be of some sort of strange, golden fabric. “Is this your umbrella?” Becky couldn’t help but stare at its beauty. The pole ended in a classic loop with ornate designs covering the shaft.

“Yes, of course.” She said quickly, trying not to show that it was obviously not hers. She grabbed the umbrella and marveled at how light it was. “Um…thanks.”

Becky walked out of the grocery store, umbrella in hand. She was cold and hungry, but was dedicated to getting the sandwich. This was her quest, this was her mission, and she was not going home until she had eaten the world’s greatest pepperoni sandwich.

The butcher and the old man watched on from the rooftop of the store as she walked away, their faces somber and saddened.

“Do you think she has any idea what lies ahead?” asked the butcher of his master.

“No, but I know that this is it. It has begun.”

Author's Note

This is a story I wrote a long, long time ago. There are two more parts that exist, I just have to find them. If you like this one, I'll post the others and try to actually finish the story.

Reviews

[sette]

it is making my mind wonder what has begun..kindly post the second part.